Matthew respectfully asked, "Lord Aven, what are your orders now?"
Along the journey, Aven had demonstrated such extensive knowledge that even the former hunter was impressed.
Normally, they would have to take detours through certain areas, but the young lord always managed to find ways to cut straight through.
"It's early summer now. The Nidoqueen and Nidoking's offspring have already been born."
"Their species is extremely protective of their young. If the babies are harmed, the parents will become enraged."
"However, during this period, they always stay close to their young and rarely leave their side. As long as we're careful, the danger won't be too great."
Aven pondered for a moment. The Nidoking Valley was vast. Although it was considered Nidoking's territory, many other Pokémon also inhabited the area.
Their purpose in coming this time was to explore the Moon Stone deposits and other resources within the valley—not to seize them.
At this time of year, Nidoking and Nidoqueen were particularly sensitive. Only after this period would their tempers return to normal.
Moreover, the Nidoking species were extremely proud and naturally aggressive. The best way to capture one was to defeat it head-on!
When the time came, Aven planned to challenge one in a duel, defeat it, and then claim the spoils of victory. And if he could capture it, he certainly wouldn't let the opportunity slip by.
For now, as long as they didn't venture into the valley's depths, moving around the outskirts wouldn't be too dangerous.
Additionally, Nidoking and Nidoqueen loved moonlight. During the day, they preferred to rest in caves and only came out at night.
"Alright, I'll have Crobat keep an aerial watch."
After a brief discussion, the two of them entered the valley. The trees inside were as lush as any forest, though the valley was surrounded on three sides by cliffs.
"Oddish, I'll leave the task of finding the Moon Stone deposits to you."
Aven addressed the group of Oddish following behind his VIleplume. Over time, he had successfully bred and gathered eight Oddish with the "Run Away" ability.
"Odd-dish~"
Upon hearing his words, the Oddish nodded and quickly darted into the undergrowth.
These Oddish, with the Run Away ability, had top-tier speed and stealth. They could disguise themselves as grass so well that even wild Pokémon rarely noticed them.
This time, Aven had deliberately assigned them the task of scouting.
Oddish were nocturnal and had a special ability to absorb moonlight for growth, making them extremely sensitive to the energy emitted by Moon Stones.
After absorbing large amounts of lunar energy, Oddish could learn moves such as Moonlight and Moonblast. Though not naturally Fairy-type Pokémon, they still showed promising affinity for Fairy moves.
Oddish #7 was the most outstanding among those with the Run Away ability. It was also the first one discovered and trained by Aven for reconnaissance.
Because of this, even though it was one of the earliest Oddish he had captured, #7 had never evolved into Gloom, fearing it would lose its scouting capabilities.
Its master had once told it that upon evolution, its Run Away ability would change to Stench—something it didn't want to happen.
Over time, it had watched as its companions evolved, growing stronger one by one. It had indeed felt moments of regret.
Its leader had evolved into a powerful VIleplume, and Oddish #1 had even mastered crafting Pokémon food. It didn't want to fall behind.
But it was during the human knight invasion that the Oddish truly discovered its value—by helping its master track enemy movements and contributing to victory.
Now, with the Safari zone established, the Oddish had taken on the responsibility of patrolling the entire area. This gave them a sense of purpose.
'I must find the Moon Stone deposit' Oddish #7 thought.
It darted swiftly through the forest, the leaves on its head trembling as it sensed for the Moon Stone's energy signals.
Rustle, rustle…
Suddenly, the sound of rustling grass emerged.
Oddish #7 stopped immediately and burrowed into the ground, disguising itself as a weed.
Soon, a small Rattata poked its head out, circled the area, then quickly scurried away.
Oddish remained calm—it had mastered the art of disguise. Even in that state, it could subtly influence the surrounding grass to help with its camouflage.
After the Rattata left, it resumed its search, speeding through the underbrush so quickly that it appeared in one spot and vanished the next.
High in a tree, a small green spider lay quietly on a branch. Below, the tree's base and surrounding grass were rigged with web traps it had spun.
All Spinarak needed was to wait for prey to get caught to enjoy a hearty meal.
As it basked in the sun, it suddenly felt a tug on one of its silk threads.
Prey! Delighted, the Spinarak looked toward its trap and saw an Oddish stuck in the web.
"Oddd!"
Oddish was startled by the sticky silk.
Looking up, it saw the green spider perched on a tree branch.
Without hesitation, the Spinarak spat more silk, quickly wrapping Oddish up.
"Hiss hiss~"
It scuttled over happily.
But just as it began unraveling the silk, the Spinarak froze—there was no Oddish inside!
Beneath a tree, Oddish exhaled in relief. It had just activated its Run Away ability to escape the web trap—any slower, and it might've been doomed.
"This valley is more dangerous than I expected…" Oddish #7 became even more cautious.
After more scouting, Oddish realized something odd—no wild Pokémon had been spotted in a while.
That likely meant it was near Nidoking's territory.
Oddish paused, recalling Aven's teachings: when encountering such a zone devoid of life, a powerful Pokémon must be nearby—it had to leave immediately.
Just as it was about to retreat, it sensed a familiar energy wave.
It was identical to the moonlight energy found in the wild—only much, much stronger!
The Moon Stone!
Oddish stopped in its tracks and looked ahead. The Moon Stone deposit was just beyond.
After a moment of hesitation, its eyes grew determined, and it carefully crept forward.
Eventually, the forest opened into a grassy clearing at the valley's depths.
There, several young Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ were playfully frolicking.
Nidoran♂ looked like purple mice, with large ears, small teeth, and little red eyes. Their backs were covered in poisonous spines.
Nidoran♀ resembled the males, but were blue, with slightly smaller ears and long whiskers on both sides of their faces.
It's worth noting that Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀ were considered the same species, like male and female lions. Nidoran♂ only came in male, and Nidoran♀ only in female—eventually evolving into Nidoking and Nidoqueen, respectively.
"Nido-nido~"
The young Pokémon played, pushing around a pitch-black stone.
Oddish watched silently from the grass, noting that the powerful lunar energy was coming from that very stone.
That's the Moon Stone!
Its eyes lit up as it lay hidden in the grass.
As the young Nidoran played, the Moon Stone suddenly rolled over toward Oddish—stopping right in front of it!
Oddish was stunned for a second, then quickly grabbed the stone with the leaves on its head and bolted.
The Nidoran♂ twitched its ears. With excellent hearing, it immediately noticed the movement.
It spun around and locked eyes on the fleeing Oddish, then chased after it. Nidoran♀ followed close behind.
But Oddish was simply too fast. In the blink of an eye, it had vanished, leaving the Nidoran siblings confused and dazed.
Despite holding the Moon Stone overhead, Oddish ran like the wind. Before long, it returned to the valley entrance, where Aven and Matthew were waiting.
"Plume~"
VIleplume quickly approached upon seeing its comrade.
"You did great, Oddish."
Aven was studying some berry on a tree when he turned and smiled at the returning Pokémon.
But when he saw the black stone on Oddish's head, he was stunned and blurted out, "A Moon Stone!"
"Odd-dish~"
Oddish nodded happily, standing on tiptoe to raise the stone even higher.
Aven squatted down and took the stone. After examining it, he confirmed—it really was a Moon Stone!
"Oddish, how did you find this stone?"
He had originally tasked Oddish with locating underground Moon Stone deposits—not already excavated ones.
He hadn't even considered that the latter would be possible, since such stones would surely be in the possession of the Nidoking clan.
Though Nidoking was a Poison/Ground-type and not particularly gifted with Fairy-type moves, it still evolved using a Moon Stone—it would certainly recognize one.
"Odd-dish ~"
Oddish tried to explain, but Aven didn't understand it directly.
Thankfully, with the help of his Ralts and its telepathy, communication wasn't a problem.
Soon, Aven was dumbfounded by the story of how Oddish had gotten the Moon Stone. He couldn't help but be a little shocked—Oddish's luck was incredible!
However, having taken the Moon Stone from Nidoran♂ and Nidoran♀, it was inevitable that their parents, Nidoking and Nidoqueen, would discover the theft and become enraged.
To them, a Moon Stone wasn't just a rock—it represented a future Nidoking or Nidoqueen. It was an extremely valuable resource.
"We're leaving immediately," Aven decided.
Originally, they had only come to explore. Acquiring the Moon Stone was a delightful surprise.
Hearing this, VIleplume nodded and released a faint green glow to call the other Oddish still in the valley.
They didn't wait for the rest of the Oddish to return and immediately left Nidoking Valley, heading into the Black Forest.
Not long after, angry roars echoed from within the valley.
The enraged cries of Nidoking and Nidoqueen spread throughout the Black Forest, scaring magical beasts into panicked flight!
(End of Chapter)
(TN: Ok, I was about to edit the Spinarak part out because it wasn't a Sinnoh Pokemon then I realized Nidoking do not exist in Sinnoh or Hisui too sooo… Guess were not following the anime or game anymore and since this was written before the Pokemon Legends: Arceus was out we were just pretty lucky every Pokémon match those in Hisui like Petilil, so starting this point I'm warning you guys other Pokemon from other regions might be here too.)